CuCrO2 with a delafossite structure was synthesized by a sol-gel technique. It shows different Li insertion/extraction behavior with those of CuCr2O4 and Cr2O3. Based on the ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, it is obvious that there are two different phase transformations upon initial and subsequent cycling, respectively. A reversible capacity of 304 mAh g(-1) can be achieved for the pure CuCrO2 after 25 cycles. Through carbon coating, the Li-storage capacity per unit is improved from 1.67 Li to 2.28 Li (415 mAh g(-1)) and almost no capacity loss is observed during charge/discharge cycling. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.